Never Expected You

by Jody Holford

  Stella walked to the front of her vehicle like she was on a plank over an alligator-filled body of water.

  When she was in front of him, he reached for her and paused. “I’m going to lift you onto the hood of the jeep. Then I’ll climb up beside you. Don’t argue.”

  She started to, but he did as he said, putting his hands on her hips, loving the feel of them, and boosted her up. Her hands came to his shoulders, gripped there, and then she was on the hood. He jumped up beside her so they were sitting side by side.

  “We going to stare at the stars? I’m not making out with you.”

  He pushed back, leaned on the windshield, and grinned. “Again. You mean you’re not making out with me again.”

  She looked up at the sky. “I’m pretending you didn’t say that.”

  “Mature,” he said, liking the way her lips curved up as he stared at her profile. “We could look at the stars if we wait for it to get darker. You ever sit still long enough to do something so peaceful?”

  He wouldn’t admit, not out loud, that she was the kind of woman who made a man want to look at the stars. Maybe even wish on them.

  She was perpetual motion in human form. Part of him wondered if that was because standing still, stopping, hurt. He knew the feeling. After Travis had died, he couldn’t stop to breathe or it crushed him. So, he’d packed up, run off, and put every angry, hurt feeling away in a box and focused on the future. On moving forward. Over time, he’d had to unpack those feelings, sort through them, and give himself time to fall apart.

  He looked over at Stella where she sat, breathing in the fresh air, her hair loose around her shoulders. Had she ever given herself the luxury of falling apart? It hadn’t been that long since her father died. Those kinds of cracks in someone’s heart didn’t fade quickly, if ever.

  “How you feeling, Doc?”

  Stella turned her head to look at him. “Tired.”

  He feigned shock. “I thought superheroes didn’t get tired.”

  She turned her head and those gorgeous lips tipped up. The smile felt almost as intimate as their kiss. Fuck. He was in big trouble if a couple stars, a gorgeous woman, and the tilt of her mouth were turning him inside out and making him forget the reason he was here.

  “I’m hardly a superhero. That would be you, Mr. Army Sergeant, Defender of Animals everywhere.”

  She looked away, staring out at her property, but Zach couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Your dad was mine,” he said quietly.

  Her quiet intake of breath was not lost on him. It nearly echoed in the silence. Turning her head slowly, she whispered, “Really?”

  Zach nodded. His throat tight. “Him and the guy that used to be mayor when I was a kid. That’s probably dumb.”

  Stella bit her lip and he looked down at her hand, resting on the hood of her Cherokee. He wanted to reach out and take it, entwine their fingers.

  “It’s not dumb. Why?”

  “Hmm?” He looked up at her again.

  “Why were they your heroes?”

  You really do not know how to get to the point. How do you get on these tangents? Focus! But he couldn’t not answer her. “They saw the good in people even when it was buried so deep you’d need an excavator to get it out. Your dad made me feel like I mattered at a time when I wasn’t sure I did.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and he forgot to keep his distance. He caught the first one on his thumb as he cupped her cheek. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  She sniffled and smiled through watery eyes. “It’s the good kind. He’d have been happy to know that.”

  “I thought I’d come back and maybe convince him to let me work at his side. I never expected you,” Zach admitted.

  Stella’s breath caught. He heard the snag and he wanted, with every molecule in his being, to lean over and take her mouth in a kiss that would drown them both.

  The air pulsed between them. Or maybe his heart was just working its way out of his chest. He looked at her lips, then back up to her eyes. Seeing the turmoil in her gaze had him dropping his hand. He’d never cause her pain. He might not have kept his hands off her like he’d told himself to, but he promised himself, right this second, that he wouldn’t be responsible for the uncertainty on her face.

  “What are we doing, Zach?”

  “We’re sitting on your Jeep on your land, under a sky that’ll soon be filled with stars. We’re being grateful.”

  “Okay. For something in particular, or life in general?”

  He wanted to take her hand, but he knew they had to redraw the line. He wanted to be her partner, and she wasn’t the type to be okay with gray areas. Not without a lot of resistance. He figured there was a reason, but before she’d ever tell him, he had to show her that he was someone she could count on. That together, they’d turn things around and maybe she could take a break from staring at the pile of obligations that was dropped on her shoulders along with the weight of her father’s death.

  “That, sure. But, also, I’m grateful you’re giving me a chance. That you’ve let me in. Not just to your home and your practice, but maybe even your life. At least a little bit.”

  She was quiet a moment and then she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them. “I’m grateful, Zach. I didn’t want to need anyone. Still don’t. But in a very short period of time, you’ve made my life easier. I’m not always receptive to help. You bulldozed over that, and I’m the one who is benefiting from it.”

  Curling his fingers into fists so he didn’t reach out, didn’t touch her, he sat up. “We’re both going to benefit. This land? You never use it. It’s here, but untouched.”

  She frowned, and her shoulders stiffened. “Those bills I pour through constantly? There’s a way to make them all go away. My father had multiple offers to buy pieces of his land. To sell it off chunk by chunk until it was a very lucrative puzzle full of pieces that no longer belonged to him. He didn’t do it. And I won’t, either, Zach. No outside sources. I let you in. You clearly caught me at the right time, and I don’t have so much pride that I can’t admit that I’m lucky you did. We’ll turn things around, but I won’t sell off parts of this place so that some big shot investor can throw some condos or box stores down.”

  So she had received offers. Not surprising. “I wouldn’t ask you to. That’s not why we’re here.”

  She put her head on her knees, turned so she could look at him. It was hard for him not to want to pull her closer, wrap his arms around her.

  “Why then?”

  Zach pointed to the trees. “You don’t have to sell the land, but if we clear some of it, sell the lumber, we’d bring in some serious coin.”

  Sitting up, she looked around. “What?”

  He couldn’t hide his smile. “You don’t have to let it all go to get something out of it. I’ve looked into buyers, and I figure if we clear even five acres, we can bring in some money. Every little bit counts, right? Plus, moving forward, if you have this land cleared, we can consider—and don’t shut me down here—renting some of it.”

  He’d spent a lot of nights thinking about this. Stella looked around at the trees, like she was seeing them for the first time.

  “Who wants to rent this?”

  “There are several farms around here busting at the seams. We have options, Stella. You have options. I know you don’t want big business in here, I get that. I did the big business thing for a while with Pet Central. It was great for the time being, but really, it let me save up for what I really wanted.”

  “The property by the water?”

  He smiled. “Definitely that. Sometimes, thinking about the house I’d build on that piece of land was all that kept me going. I have a rental property as well, but that land is the thing I consider mine. My tie to this town. I grew up wishing I had a stake in this place, literally and figuratively. Like your father did. Like you do.”

  She waited so he continued.

  “I had an opportunity to
stay with Pet Central. I came to you because it’s not what I want either. But we’ve got options if you’re willing to explore them.”

  Her demeanor visibly changed, like the little bit of hope he’d given her filled her with a tangible energy. Perpetual energy, he thought again. She smiled at him.

  “All this because my dad was nice to you?”

  “It was more than that. My family didn’t have a lot of money. I don’t want to rehash the past, but let’s just say it can be hard on a kid when they’re judged for something they can’t change. I always felt like I was on the outside, and in a town like this, that’s the same as not existing. I had my mom, but until my dad died, she had her hands full and I never wanted to be a burden to her. I had your dad. He made me feel like I was part of something. Like Travis did. But then Trav died.” His jaw clenched, and he stopped talking. If he wanted her trust, he had to go all in. As much as he could, anyway. “My best friend died, and I felt like it was my fault. I couldn’t stand it, so I left. But even when I ran, I knew I’d be back. My mom is here. My home is here. Your father was important to me and more than that, he made me feel like I mattered. One day, Brockton is going to be big enough there’ll be other vets in town. Hell, we might even get a Costco. But right now, in this moment, you have the monopoly on taking care of animals. If I want to be here and I want to be a vet, I need you to want me. To need me. I’m trying to find a way to make you need me so I can stay and be part of what your father built. Of what you’re trying to keep going.”

  He pushed off the hood because he couldn’t be beside her, baring his soul, and sit still.

  Stella pushed to the edge of the hood, her feet dangling, and he turned, stared at her, sitting there in the almost moonlight. He never thought about karma or kismet, like he’d suggested the other night, but he knew, in his gut and his heart, that he was meant to be right here, by her side. Maybe he didn’t know all the reasons yet, but he trusted his gut. They were going to build something together. And it was going to be fucking magnificent.

  “I didn’t want to let anyone in. That’s hard for me because people leave. I don’t want to rehash the past, either, but let’s just say I don’t have a whole lot of faith in long term. Or forever. Or things working out in some predestined way. But I like that you have a connection to my father because I’m scared I didn’t have enough of one. I thought there was plenty of time. I could go away to school, come back, and grow old learning from him. Maybe even teach him a thing or two. But then he died without warning and I realized how alone I am. Trying to keep this place going, that’s the only connection to him I can focus on now. I feel like he’d be happy you’re here. So if you want it on paper, I’ll do that. We’ll negotiate, and I’ll obviously take the bigger share, because by now you’ve figured out I need the control. But I don’t need it all. Not if you’re serious.”

  He stepped closer, stopping short of moving between her knees. “I’ve never been more serious. This isn’t some passing whim. I want this, Stella. With you.”

  Her breath hitched, and he moved in just a little more. “This business. You want the business.”

  Zach could only nod as her eyes messed with the cadence of his heart. Fuck. He wanted more than that. Really wanted it. But he’d take what he could get.

  “Yes,” he said, his throat suddenly raw.

  “Just you and me. No one else, Zach. My dad didn’t bring in others, so we don’t either. I like the ideas you’ve come up with. They’re good. They’re tangible, but the best part of them is that we don’t have to rely on anyone other than us.”

  He thought of Andrew’s check, which he’d already cashed and transferred. Worry gnawed at his gut. That was different. Even her father had taken a loan. He hadn’t sold out, but he’d taken that stupid balloon mortgage that was half the reason she was so far in debt.

  “Just us,” he promised. He took her hand in his, squeezed. “Just us, Stella.”

  He liked the sound of that too much, even knowing she’d only let it be business. He could imagine what they’d be, on every level, if she dropped those shields. One step at a time.

  “Okay, then.”

  She inched a little closer, her lips hitching up in a smile. “Partner,” she whispered.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The following Sunday, Stella was awoken by two things simultaneously: her phone ringing, and the sound of her ride-on lawn mower. Blinking herself awake, she startled when she saw the clock said it was after nine. She never slept in. She didn’t even set an alarm because her busy brain always woke her by dawn.

  Her phone kept ringing and she sat up, grabbing it off the charger beside her bed. It was Parker, Megan’s brother.

  “Hey, Parker,” Stella said, her voice still rough and sleepy.

  “Hey. You sleeping?” The surprise in his voice matched her own.

  “Just woke up. How’s it going?” Stella threw back the covers and got out of bed. Walking to the window, she saw Zach on her mower, zigzagging around her overgrown yard. Nacho and Soda chased after him, and she smiled at their enthusiasm.

  “Good. I wondered if you’d grabbed the steaks because I’m at the store and there’s a wicked sale,” he said.

  Stella flipped through her memory and cringed. “Dammit. I didn’t. I forgot.” She hoped he thought she meant the steaks, but the truth was, it had slipped her mind that she’d invited Parker, his husband Garrett, Meg, Adam, and Charlie over for a BBQ.

  “No worries. I’ll grab them. Six of us?”

  Stella watched as Zach did circles on the lawn mower. She laughed when the dogs followed his path. “Seven, actually.”

  “Oh yeah? I heard you’ve got a man in your life,” Parker said, his tone somewhere between teasing and big-brotherish.

  “I hired someone to help out with my practice,” she replied, moving away from the window to grab some clothes.

  “Uh-huh. I heard he’s pretty easy to look at.”

  Stella rolled her eyes, wondering if it was Megan who’d told him. “He’s an excellent vet.”

  “Okay. So, seven?”

  She paused, thinking about Zach and the fact that he was outside mowing her lawn. And enjoying it. You slept in for the first time in years. Though she wasn’t normally impulsive, Stella went with her gut.

  “Can we make it eleven?”

  “How many men do you have there?”

  Stella laughed. “I’m going to invite Zach’s mom and her boyfriend, and I figured we should invite Dec and Taylor, too.”

  “We could make it an engagement party,” Parker suggested.

  “Aw. You’re the sweetest big brother.”

  “I consider myself yours, too, sweetheart, so you can fully expect me to grill more than the steaks tonight.”

  “I’ll take care of the side dishes. See you later, Parks.”

  “I mean it.”

  Her heart smiled. “I know you do.”

  Stella pushed down the emotions swamping her and texted Declan and Taylor before phoning Sheila and asking if she’d like to join them all for dinner. By the time she showered and made her way outside, two travel mugs of coffee in hand, Zach had finished half the lawn.

  When he saw her, he cut the engine. “Morning, Doc.”

  A zap of awareness traveled up her spine at the sound of his voice. Don’t complicate everything. When she got closer, she handed him a mug. “Morning. You’ve been busy.”

  Nacho and Soda bounded over to give her some love. She set her coffee on the mower and bent to rub them. “Good morning to you guys, too.” When she straightened, Zach was staring at her. Despite the breeze whispering around her, heat suffused her body and she reminded herself, again, that she was finally able to breathe. She didn’t need to cut off her own supply of oxygen by blurring the lines she and Zach had drawn.

  “What?” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear but refused to look away.

  Zach continued to stare a moment. “Nothing. You’re just softer around the animals. It’s nice.
”

  Meaning what? She was hard at other times? Not hard. Guarded. Cautious. And rightfully so. Too many times, the proverbial rug had been ripped from under her feet, and she didn’t want to be left flat on her ass ever again.

  “So, we’re kind of having an impromptu get together tonight. Well, I’d already invited people, but forgotten, and then Megan’s brother, Parker, called to ask me about steak and I remembered. I thought, since we’re already having people over, the more the merrier.” Was she rambling? She might have been. He was staring at her with a strange expression. “I invited Declan and my friend Taylor—you haven’t met her yet. And I invited your mom and Shane. Because I thought it would be nice. I hope I didn’t overstep. Also, it’s kind of an engagement party now. That was Parker’s suggestion.” What the hell was wrong with her?

  Zach’s brows rose, his mouth lifting in a restrained smile, like he was trying not to laugh.

  “Hopefully you don’t have plans.” She hadn’t thought of that. Shit.

  Zach climbed off the mower, handing Stella her coffee before sipping his own. “Mm. Nothing better than coffee you don’t have to make yourself.”

  Stella’s heartbeat was doing something funny. Jumping jacks or something, and she wondered if maybe she was having some sort of arrythmia. He watched her over his travel mug.

  “Say something,” she blurted. Nacho barked excitedly.

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  That was it? Did he roll with everything so easily? “You don’t mind that I invited your mom?”

  “I like my mom.”

  Because she was feeling oddly like a school girl who had no idea how to talk to a man, Stella poked at him. “And her boyfriend?”

  He scowled. “If he makes her happy, I’m sure I’ll like him, too. Thanks for inviting them.”

  “Thanks for doing the lawn.”

  They continued to stare at each other. She should offer to take over the mowing, but she knew he’d refuse. Besides that, he was clearly enjoying it.